Becoming the Hero
by Sakura Nightingale
Summary: SLIGHT STORY CHANGE! A criminal from the future has made his way into the past with unclear motives. Kyon notices strange things happening to him and the world around him. Has Haruhi made him like this? What does this criminal want? R&R!
1. My name is Hero

SUMMARY: Haruhi's getting older and she decides she's finally ready for a serious relationship, but with her expectations, there's only one way to find the perfect man: create him. Poor Kyon is the guinea pig! HaruhixKyon, possibly ItsukixMikuru, the rest is TDB

Hey guys! So, I got this idea while watching My Super Ex-Girlfriend. lol Hopefully I get Kyon's character down right.. He's somewhat difficult to do, but I'll try my best. He's the narrator, as always... Enjoy!

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Well, the universe is officially doomed. I never truly thought of it until just today. Our lives depend on the will of an 18 year old girl who isn't even aware of her powers. I used to say "it's not my problem, why should I care?", but it has officially become my problem and Haruhi will make sure I don't forget it. Haruhi is growing up and has over the years become increasingly hormonal. Actually, it's quite frightening to watch. Itsuki is obviously quite amused, Asahina-san is a little worried but also happy that her friend is finally interested in someone, and Nagato-san merely observes as our club leader talks endlessly of the man she met last night. God, do I feel bad for him. From what she's saying, I don't know if she's in love or looking to capture and use him to track down other supernatural beings. Knowing Haruhi, it's probably some vile mix of both.

Oh, I suppose I should start this story there, shouldn't I? The night before was quiet. I was finishing off my homework in my bedroom at around 10:00PM. My eyes were tired and I was considering giving up on the calculus problems in front of me, but though I was fatigued, I noticed a flicker of light from behind me. I looked through my window and found a meteor or some other type of rock plummeting toward the Earth. Some sort of curiosity over took me... I wondered what it was, why it was here, whether or not it hurt someone. Luckily, the latter was not the case. After wandering for about a half hour, I found it in the middle of a forest. What was I doing here? I'm not Haruhi. I'm not the type of person that goes looking for trouble, am I? And yet here I stood with this giant extraterrestrial stone, red and pulsating. Maybe I was dreaming?

I stood in awe for a few moments. A rock that was possibly billions of years old or perhaps even from some other galaxy was sitting there in front of me. My thoughts were interrupted by a voice and, naturally, I turned to see the owner of it. There were trees, an owl hooting in the distance, and the crackle of dry leaves and underbrush underneith my feet, but no signs of intelligent life.

_Come closer..._

Who's there? Who's speaking to me? And how do they know my real name?

_Come closer, Kyonosuke..._

W-what? I have to admit - a freaky rock in front of me, a mysterious voice beckoning me, and a dark, moonless night in the forest from the Blair Witch Project? It scared me just a little. It took me a while to realize that the voice was coming from the meteor. No, not realize. To accept the fact. But no way.. Meteors can't speak. I must be dreaming. Yeah, that's it. I was solving that one question and fell asleep at my desk. Yes, I'm defiantly dreaming.  
_  
Come closer, Kyonosuke. Bridge the gap between yourself as you stand now and yourself as she wishes you were._

Or.. maybe it's real. And what the hell is it talking about? I suppose it could just be my imaginati-

_Come here. Right. Now._

Okay, maybe it's the rock. I don't know what, but something made me think I should listen to it. I know it was probably a really stupid decision, and you may be thinking I've lost my mind, but something about its voice sounded strangely threatening. Well this is great, Kyon. You not only hear talking rocks, but you listen to them as well. Something about this sounds like it all came out of a really bad comic book. Cursing my new found urge to touch the rock, I slowly approached it with an outstretched arm. I closed my eyes, expecting something like utter pain, brain damage or possibly death, but the rock was somehow soothing and warm and soft to the touch... Well, up until it exploded and sent me flying backwards. That could have ended better. It would have been nice to fall back into the grassy forest floor or even head-first into a tree, but imagine finding yourself floating in midair instead. What? What happened? Shouldn't I have a concussion by now? I waited another five minutes for some sort of pain before I slowly opened my eyes... Yes. I was hovering! And glowing! And... new clothes? I felt like I was on Sailor Moon...

But wait. That's it? That's how I became thing extraordinary being? I touched a meteor from God knows where? Well, how cheesy is that? I could have been hit in the backside by chemical Z, born on Krypton or perhaps Planet Vegeta, given some mystical item by some talking magical fuzzball, bitten by a mutated spider... Wow, so many pop culture references... My point is, couldn't I have gotten these powers in a much cooler way? I suppose beggars can't be choosers, although I certainly never asked for this.

Anyway, sorry about the detour. Back to my story. Somehow, I managed to get my feet to touch the ground again. So let's put it all together. New, slightly torn clothing with a black and red color scheme; new athletic body (this I don't mind at all!); new black, slightly spikey hair; new red eyes; flying ability and a sneaking suspicion of many other new talents... Holy mother of God, I can never call myself John Smith again. But how will I ever be Kyon again? What am I now? I'll need an alias... Something else to go by so that I have at least a chance of being just slightly normal ever again... But first, how do I change back? Do I need to henshin? Yell a magic phrase? Simply change my clothes and tell people I'm experimenting with a new look? No, that's way too obvious. I don't want to be anything other than human. I was perfectly content with my boring high school life! I'm beginning to feel a little anxious. Haruhi's power was never my problem before, but now she's cursed me to live out a life that isn't my own. What should I do?

"Change me back! Please!" I yelled out of sheer panic and frustration and suddenly, I felt less muscular. Well that was easy.

_Alright, new rule: no more ramen before bedtime_, I thought and I hurried back home to go straight to bed. If this was a dream, I wanted nothing more than to wake up. At about that time I heard a scream and turned in that direction only to realize it had come from about a mile or so away. I now had super hearing?

"Stop it, hentai! I-I'm warning you! Get out of my way. I wanna see what landed!"

That voice was Haruhi's. She was in trouble but it seemed she was more concerned about getting to were she was going than her own safety. Typical Haruhi. Then I heard another noise that made my heart skip a beat: her attacker was loading his gun.

"Shut it, little girl, or you'll have another hole in you other than that pretty little c-nt of yours."

Haruhi gasped. How was I able to hear all this? I could sense she was now scared out of her mind. It somehow didn't surprise me that it took a gun for her to realize her life was in danger, but that I only thought of when I got home after all this. At the time, I was in just as much of a frenzy as she was. This man was going to mug her, rape her, or worse - kill her. I had to do something but it was too far to run and by the time the police got there, he would have already finished what he set out to do. What do I do?

"C'mon Kyon.. Become the super hero..." I coaxed myself, but like I even knew how! "Become the hero! I have to save her!"

I'm not sure if it was my distress or whatever I said, but a dark light enveloped me just like before and suddenly, I was him. Or was he me? Oh, no time for philosophy! I have to save Haruhi.

I flew off into the night faster than I'd ever ran before. I passed the speeding cars with ease, not caring if the passengers caught a glance at me flying past their windows, and arrived in the alley where Haruhi and her aggressor were in mere seconds. I can't remember ever being so angry in my entire life. The man was trying to pull of her shirt, tearing it in the process, but the brigade leader was fighting back with whatever strength she had. Ultimately, he was much stronger than she and took the opportunity to slap her across the face, stunning her long enough for him to make a move for her skirt. I growled a low growl - which was something completely new to me. I've never been this angry before. I twitched uncontrollably. I grimaced. I didn't know it at the time, but my red eyes glowed demonically. My hands clenched into fists as I stood at the opening of the alley. After that everything happened so quickly. In a fraction of a second, I'd thrown myself at the aggressor and tackled him into a brick wall, breaking it with brute strength. I rose before him with unforgiving red eyes as he laid against the wall, feebly, probably having many fractured or broken bones.

"Touch her again and I'll kill you," I said, in an almost unfamiliar menacing voice. I don't know where that came from... The man groaned in pain and presumably passed out.

I knew he wasn't going anywhere, so I pried my eyes off him to see if Haruhi was alright. Her shirt torn and she stared up at me in awe as though she'd found the Holy Grail... I wasn't used to receiving that sort of attention from her.

"Are you alright...?" I asked.

Haruhi merely nodded. I could only imagine what was going through her head at that moment. You got what you wanted, Haruhi: a supernatural occurrence. "A-are you," she stammered. "Who.. who are you...?"

I paused. This was a perfect time for that damn alias, but I hadn't decided on it yet. "My name is Hero," I explained, giving her the first name that popped into my mind. Kind of a cheesy alias, but hey, I was put on the spot.

"Are you... are you an alien? A time traveller? An esper, o-or maybe a ghost!" I could see excitement bubbling in her deep brown eyes. I was getting more and more nervous. Did she have to look at me like I was the lost city of Atlantis? "Please, come with me! There's so much I want to ask you! I can't believe it's finally happened! I'm so excited!"

"I..." I realized I should leave before she recognized my face. "I need to go... Make sure to call an ambulance and the police for this guy."

As I turned, I could hear her yell "Wait!! Please, come back, Hero!", but I couldn't turn back. If she knew who I was, who knows what she would do? It's probably her fault I'm like this in the first place, but it was best she didn't know who Hero really was. I flew away, leaving a dark trail in the sky but, using my supersonic hearing, heard her mutter "I'll find you...!". Great.

God, what a night... I hoped this was all a dream, but considering everything else that's happened since I met Haruhi, the chance of that was pretty slim. However, I still hoped beyond hope that things would go my way, so you could imagine my disdain when I saw my alter ego on the news the next day just before school.

"A mysterious, dark figure was seen flying over this suburban street yesterday at around 10:45PM just after a bright meteor fell toward the Earth and was never seen post-landing. Witnesses say that this figure took the shape of what appeared to be a man," announced the reporter. They then showed a crude picture of me, probably taken with someone's cellphone, and interviewed various witnesses, scientists, meteorologists, and other important people. The police commented that there is possibly a connection between the flying anomaly and the battered criminal they were directed to by an anonymous teenage victim in an alley which connected to the street where the figure was seen. There was also footage of the forest where I'd found the meteor. It was now a rather nice crator filled with scientists and surrounded by civilians behind makeshift fences so they could not contaminate any evidence. Oh, and there was also a haggard old man in the crowd who yelled into the camera "It's them Gawddang aliens, I tells yee!". I sighed deeply. So much for that dream theory.

And now I was sitting rather awkwardly in the club room as Haruhi ranted about a tall, strong, handsome man who'd saved her and best of all, had to be either an alien, a time traveler, an esper, or maybe even a mix of all of them. I'd never seen her like this. Of course, "Hero" was the talk of the whole school, but I was a little more embarrassed now than before somehow.

"You don't understand, Mikuru!" Haruhi almost shouted with joy as our cute little maid poured her tea. "He was perfect! So brave and handsome and definitely NOT a waste of my time unlike normal boys. He saved my life and he's gotta be something weird and supernatural! And to think, I met him right after I saw that meteor and went to check it out..."

So that's why she was out that night... Well, I must admit it was kind of nice to see her acting like a normal girl for a change. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a scary thing at all. Maybe she'd finally start acting like what she looks like: a highly attractive high school girl.

"That settles it!" she slammed her hands down on her desk, standing to get everyone's attention. "We need to find Hero! Not only is he the perfect guy, but think about it. If he's around, there's no doubt he'll attract a bunch of weird things and paranormal happenings! That's how all those superhero stories work!"

Hm. I was wrong. Same old Haruhi, I guess.

"We'll get him to join the SOS Brigade and we'll never run out of mysteries! That's the greatest idea yet! Glad I thought of it."

Oh dear God. Well, someone's definitely satisfied with themselves.

This all makes me nervous... And slightly happy..? No. Definitely nervous. Especially with damn Itsuki giving me this look like he knows something which, being an esper, he probably does, but must he make it so obvious?

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Please critique! Review, favorite, and all that good stuff! :D I may or may not re-write this chapter later... Sorry if some characters seem OOC. I'm trying to experiment with what Haruhi might be like when she's finally in love and, since she gets so excited around the paranormal, I hope that doesn't come off as out of character. ^^; Anyway, might add more pairings as well. Tell me what you think of the concept too! :)


	2. Deep Red Iris

Hey, guys! Keep the reviews coming! I'm sorry if some characters seem OOC. The Haruhi Suzumiya characters seem harder for me to do than other characters for some reason.. Maybe partially because this is my first fic in that fandom? lol I dunno, but I'll keep on trying if you keep on reviewing (constructively, please). ;)

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That evening at home didn't get too much better. My family was glued to the television screen; more accurately, to the news about this "Hero" character. He was the last thing I wanted to hear about. While they sat in the living room, I slipped away quietly to get some dinner.

"Kyon, aren't you going to watch? Apparently, the government has issued a warning... They're telling people to stay away from it until they can capture it." my mother called after me.

"It's probably just some big misunderstanding," I told her. "Anyway, I don't have the time to worry about it."

My mother groaned. "You're not fun, Kyon."

She could be so immature sometimes. My father chuckled at his wife.

"He looks like a super hero!" Miharu (-1-) said, not once lifting her eyes from the TV screen. I sighed and headed toward the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, I peered inside to see what was left for me from a few hours ago. Haruhi had kept us late at school so my family had dinner without me. A bowl of rice, a plate of sashimi, and another bowl of miso soup peered back at me. I pulled these out one at a time to reheat them and my elbow knocked over a cup of milk my sister, Miharu, had no doubt carelessly left on the counter. I saw it immediately, falling slower than usual, then turned and reached to grab it, not spilling a single drop of milk. I sighed, poured the milk into the sink and stuffed the cup into the dishwasher until I stopped and realized what I'd just done. Did I just do that? I can't move that fast... Well, I couldn't before anyway. This will take some getting used to.

After eating, I went up to my room to start on my homework. About an hour in, I'd just finished my English work until my cellphone began to ring.

Hm... Koizumi?

"Hello?"

"Kyon, it's Itsuki," he answered. "Sorry to call so late, but we have a bit of an emergency. Asahina-san and Nagato-san are here too. Are you busy?"

He sounded calm as always, so I couldn't gauge how urgent the emergency was, but I worried something had happened to either of the girls present.

"No, I'm just finishing up my work. Where are you?"

"We're at the park near the school," he said. "Come quickly, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way."

Well, first comes Hero, now comes some new occurrence. I wonder where Haruhi got the time to think of all this? It wasn't long before I pulled a light jacket over my t-shirt and hopped on my bicycle. I arrived at the park Koizumi had asked to meet me and sure enough, found the three of them huddled under a large tree. Asahina-san was in an obvious panic while the other two remained calm as always. Nagato didn't even look up at me from where she was seated when I came running. Koizumi, however, met me with a smile.

"You made it," he seemed pleased.

"So, what's the emergency?"

"Well," Koizumi turned to the flustered Asahina-san.

"T-the classified agency from the future where I am employed," she stuttered. "They sent a message. This is classified information for the most part, but there are some things which I am required to be sure you're all aware of. There is someone from the future who has escaped from his confides and has stolen our methods of time-space transportation. They told me that he is likely looking to travel to this time, but also that his motives seem unclear. The rest, I cannot say, only that our lives are all in danger if we don't recapture him. The agency has told me this is a red alert situation."

So someone who could possibly kill us all was now on the loose? "Did your agency send back up or some means of protection for us?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Kyon," she sighed, regretfully. "That's classified. They will do their best to protect you... Just, I can't tell you by what means."

She was so cute when she was sorry! "No, it's fine. I understand."

"I suppose the only thing we can do now is be on our guard. Hopefully, this Hero person will help us out once in a while," Koizumi leaned against the large plant, smiling at me. Yeah, he definitely knows something.

"Uh, yeah," was all I could muster. Nagato was silent the entire time, but she seemed not surprised at all by Koizumi's words. Asahina-san was too busy worrying to really listen to him. I wonder if she knew something too?

"Anyway, I think we should all just be on the look out. We shouldn't let this affect our daily lives too much but also keep a close look out for Suzumiya-san. If there's any reason to come back to this time, it's her," said Koizumi.

I guess he was right. I mean, what else could whoever this was be after? The rest of the night was thankfully rather uneventful. The next morning, my other self was still the talk of the town. I tried my best to ignore it. Finally, our teacher arrived. Good, now I don't have to listen to all that anymore.

"Settle down, class!" he exclaimed. "Settle down. We have two new transfer students. I hope you all do your best to make them feel welcome."

Transfer students? In the middle of the year?

Sure enough, in walked an identical pair. One was a boy and the other, a girl, but it was quite clear they were related. They had the same brown hair and green eyes.

"Class, I'd like to introduce Akane and Ayame Kimura," our sensei announced. The twins bowed.

"Nice to meet you!" they said, simultaneously.

Something seemed weird about the boy... I think he was Ayame and his sister was Akane. I didn't think about it too much though. After all, we had a pop quiz that day on a subject that wasn't exactly my strength, so I barely had time for the twins. It wasn't until lunch time that I ever thought of them again. Akane seemed to make herself at home with a herd of girls in our class. I sat in my usual spot with Taniguchi and Kunikida, trying to look uninterested when the conversation about my alter ego began, until Ayame approached us. He grinned; I think it was about as friendly as his naturally mischievous smile would muster.

"Hey there, gentlemen," he said, still smiling. "Mind if I join you?"

"Nah, we don't mind," Taniguchi nodded. Kunikida seemed not to mind. I got that weird feeling again. "Kimura, right?"

"Yes, that's it," said he as he pulled out his lunch. "I'm sorry, I don't think I got all of your names."

"Well, I'm Masato Kunikida," Kunikida smiled. "And that's Kaoru Taniguchi and beside him is Kyonousuke Sato, er, but we all call him Kyon."

"Nice to meet you guys."

"Yeah, same to you," I said between bites of sushi. Lunch time was sort of uneventful. Akane, at some point, left her new circle and joined ours.

"Hey there, boys," she greeted us. "Seems you've met my brother. I'm Akane Kimura."

We each introduced ourselves and Akane smiled in response. Her smile was much sweeter than her brothers. Actually, she was probably one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen - more beautiful than Haruhi! She sat down next to her brother.

"So, you've all heard of that Hero guy?"

"How could I not hear of him?" Taniguchi asked. He obviously noticed her beauty just as I did. "Everywhere I go, people are talking about him."

"Do you think he really is a super hero?" Kunikida asked. "I mean, people have been spreading rumors about that and, well, he kind of fits the bill."

"I don't care what he is," Akane said with a sigh. "He's captured my heart... I can tell from that picture he must be handsome and heroic and brave..."

I tried as hard as I could not to blush. Ayame scoffed.

"If he were so brave, he'd show his face," said he scornfully as he rolled his eyes at his sister. She glared in response. "We wouldn't need to go scrounging around for his picture. He'd let us know where he is and how to contact him in case of emergency. The way he's doing it now, he can just pick and choose when he wants to come save us."

"But he can't just tell us all that," his twin defended. "People would go after him; fans, reporters, wannabe bad guys... This way is better."

"But he's only really been here for a few days," Taniguchi attempted to cut the tension between the siblings. "So we really don't know what he'll decide to do."

"Whatever he does is none of our business," I said, suddenly feeling bothered that I was unknowingly being lectured by the twins. "The world's never needed a super hero, but it can't hurt too much to have one. What I'm trying to say is that what he does isn't going to effect any of us, so why worry? We're fine with or without him."

"Well that's not true," Akane argued. "If not for him, that girl would have probably been killed two nights ago, right?"

Oh yeah. I did save Haruhi's life and God knows the world would be different without her. I suppose Akane didn't know how right she was. Ayame still seemed to hold contempt for Hero... Why did he hate him so much? Luckily, the bell had rung by then and it was time for class. I was glad that the whole conversation was over, but it wasn't long before a new bother arose. When Haruhi came back to her desk (which was right behind mine for yet another year), she was ecstatic about the twins' coming to our school.

"It all makes sense!" she told me. "Just like when Itsuki came... This Hero guy shows up and suddenly, the twins are here!"

"It's just a coincidence, Haruhi." Our teacher was sure taking his time in coming back to class.

"It can't be... The only possible explanation is that Ayame is Hero!" she pipped. I couldn't help but start laughing at her. Ayame? Hero? He hated the guy! Why would he have anything to do with Hero whatsoever? That was honestly her best hypothesis? My laughter angered the brigade leader.

"What's so funny, Kyon!?"

"That's the best you came up with?" I guess something about knowing something that Haruhi desperately wanted to know but could never find out made me almost _want_ to rub it in. Odd, I've never felt that way before. Perhaps it's because this time, the situation has everything to do with me so I don't feel so detached. "Ayame not only hates Hero, but looks nothing like him!"

Haruhi pondered this. "You think Hero's human form would look like him?"

My laughter ceased. Oh shit. "Well, it's just a theory... Of course, I could be wrong."

"No, you could be on to something, Kyon," I hated when she got that 'You're Probably Right' look on her face. "After all, in super hero stories, the alter ego always looks like the hero."

Why did I have to go and say that? Now she'd discover it was me for sure. I had to change the subject... Redirect her thinking. But, how?

"Ugh,"

'Ugh'?

"What?" I asked.

"That Ayame kid's staring at me," she said in disgust. She was right. He was looking right at her with that same grin that said he wanted her. It made my stomach churn. How could he look at her like she was a piece of meat? And... why did I care? "You're right. He can't be Hero. If he is, maybe Hero's not worth finding."

If there's anything Haruhi hated, it was guys and, well, people in general, but mostly guys who stared at her like how he was. Or perhaps that isn't accurate. Since we met, she's been warming up to people a little, but those guys with their flirty eyes and minds that were probably mentally undressing her still made her turn up her nose, and with good reason I might add. I wasn't sure how much I liked Ayame anymore.

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Alright, so that's it for chapter two. What are the twins doing here? Why does Kyon feel weird around Ayame? Actually, what's Ayame's problem? And who's that evil guy that came back from the future? Is Akane to be trusted? Review, fave, and enjoy. :D

AUTHOR'S NOTES: You've probably noticed that the characters who didn't really have names in the anime I gave names to, like Kyon's sister is now Miharu (-1-) and Kyon is Kyonousuke (hopefully this name sounds majestic, Kyon once said his full name sounds majestic and doesn't suit him).


	3. Blood Bloils

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the reviews, they really help when I'm trying to figure out which direction I want this fic to go in. I know it's all somewhat slow-moving now, but I've already thought of a few plot twists and couplings and all that, as well as possibly some new OCs and such. :) Please be patient and I assure you you won't regret it. =D

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Where am I? I can't feel my body. Everything is dark and I can't see. What's going on?

Suddenly, a light flickers to life and I'm standing high above the city. This had to be a dream, but it felt so real. There were houses on fire and tattered people trying desperately to put out the flames. There were riots, robberies, and assault running rampant. I was speechless. It was like staring down right into the Apocalypse. Death covered the streets of this once quiet city. People were killing, raping, and stealing without even a second thought. No one was safe. Blood, fire, and body parts surrounded everything. I felt my stomach wrench and churn.

There were giant creatures surrounding one house in particular, as if defending it, but as I watched them, the mythical soldiers toppled one by one. My heart suddenly raced as the house itself began to glow from the inside. What was in there? Why did I feel I needed to shield it from harm?

"I have came to take your power and claim it as my own," the dark figure of a winged man shouted at the house and chuckled cruelly as he ripped the door violently off its hinges. No! Stop! Don't go in there!

But I was powerless. I could barely even move and I felt I might pass out. The smell of blood and death from bellow mingling with smoke from the flames was overwhelming. My heart continued to pound in my chest and my head felt as though it would be torn in two. Everyone was suffering and I could do nothing about it. A scream coming from inside the house pierced the air and caught my attention immediately. The smell of blood was suddenly twice as powerful. The heavenly glow turned into the darkest black and I realized I recognized the voice. Haruhi? Haruhi!

And that's when I woke up in a cold sweat. My breathing was staggered and my stomach was still upset. Quickly, I got out of bed and ran toward the washroom down the hall to regurgitate that night's dinner into the toilet. As you can probably tell, I don't exactly enjoy the smell of blood, but that wasn't what frightened me. What frightened me was how real that dream felt. It felt as though it were happening - no, as if it was going to happen some time soon. That man with the wings seemed to familiar. Trying not to think of the metallic smell of death, I brushed my teeth again and walked slowly back to my bedroom where I soon found sleep again. I had to wait for my heart to stop pounding and I had to try to convince myself it was only a dream and nothing to feel deeply disturbed about, but after some time, I did find sleep.

The next morning, Saturday morning, I was not tired at all even though I'd spent most of the night talking myself into calming down so I could sleep. I suppose being able to do more with less sleep is an ability all super heroes have. Wait, did I just refer to myself as a super hero? Come to think of it, what am I?

My stomach growled angrily. I sighed. I guess I'll have to come back to that thought later.

I had nothing spectacular planned for that weekend, so when my mother asked me to go grocery shopping, I couldn't see why not and did so without much complaint. I biked to the nearest grocery store and parked my bicycle. Taking a small cart (there wasn't much I needed to buy), I made my way into the building and straight to the produce isle. While looking through the carrots, I heard my name called and turned to see Akane smiling at me. Remember Akane? The new girl at school, probably the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and twin sister of that less-than-likable Ayame? Yes, that's her.

"Fancy seeing you here," she giggled cutely.

"Kimura-san," I resolved that she would be Kimura-san (unless she wants me to call her anything else) and that her brother would be simply Kimura. "Nice to see you again!"

"You too, Kyon. So how are things?"

With that, we were having a conversation, all the while shopping for whatever it was on our lists.

"You're a fan of Alice Five (1)?" she looked surprised. "No way!"

I suppose I really didn't look much like an Alice Five fan, but I owned enough of their CDs to have earned such a title. Their music was pretty awesome even though their appearance was a little extravagant for my tastes.

"I love them too!"

"Really?" I smiled. "That's great. None of my friends really know of Alice Five, so it's nice to know I finally have someone to speak to about them."

"Ah, me too! Ayame hates them. He thinks The Barette (1) is more hardcore."

"The Barette's good too," I responded. "But I like Alice Five more. I really used to like Malice Mistress (1) when Jackt (1) was their lead singer."

She nodded in agreement, showing off that dazzling smile again. God, she was so beautiful...!

"So, how did you do on that math homework last night?" asked she.

"Oh, it wasn't bad."

"Really? I didn't get a lot of it," Akane frowned. "This new school has a harder math program than my last school. Ayame's always been great at math, but he's never been a good teacher," she looked up at me then. "Kyon, do you mind tutoring me in math? I'm prepared to pay you for your time if you'll have me."

How could I say no to that face? How could I say no to the thought of a girl this beautiful being with me... Alone... In my bedroom... Hey, I'm a teenager with hormones, you know! So I guess it doesn't surprise anyone that I nodded in response to her request.

"Thanks so much, Kyon! So, how much do you think is a fair price?"

For you? I'd do it for free.

"Whatever you think is fine," I said.

We were both nearing the check out counter to pay for our things.

"Alright, how about twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday after school for two hours at $15 per hour?"

"Sounds good," I answered. I let her pay for her things first so I could admire her black hair pulled up into a ponytail.

"See you on Tuesday?" she asked, about to leave. My reaction was a nod and a smile. "Goodbye, Kyon!"

"I'll see you around, Kimura-san!"

Wow... Kimura-san wanted me to tutor her! That meant she's be at my house those days! But wait... Didn't I have meetings with the brigade every day after school?

No matter, I suppose. It's only two days... Right?

"What do you mean you won't be there today or Thursday!?"

Well, I guess I really should have known to take her somewhere more private when discussing the SOS Bridage. When I ushered Haruhi outside the classroom that Tuesday at lunch period, I thought that would be private enough, but she yelled so loud, I'm pretty sure every class on that floor of the school building must have heard. Now that I think of it, with a voice that annoyingly loud, is there anywhere we could have gone that would be considered private?

"Haruhi, don't yell like that!" I spoke in a hushed voice, trying not to notice the brief glances and stares.

"Don't tell me what not to do!" her voice hadn't lessened in volume that time.

I sighed. "Haruhi, it's only two days, alright? I'll be there every other day, just there's something important I have to do."

"What's more important than the SOS Brigade's meetings?" Haruhi inquired, becoming more and more frustrated with me. "Especially with that guy on the loose. How am I supposed to run a functional brigade without all my members? I may be an amazing leader, but I can't work miracles!"

Oh, if only you knew, Haruhi.

Irony aside, what should I say to her? I can't say "none of your business" because she'll only get angrier and create an even bigger scene, but how do I explain that Akane needs my help without Haruhi embarrassing her?

"Look, someone needs my help, alright?" I said as calmly as I could.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow at me then looked me up and down. Uh oh. That can't be good. I hate it when that happens; when Haruhi does something she's never done before. Impulsive as she is, when you've known her as long as I have, she becomes quite predictable. It's much easier to get along with her if you know exactly how she'll react and that's pretty much how I've been getting through our - is this a friendship? - our relationship. But sometimes she'll do something that'll completely throw me for a loop and I have no idea what she's thinking or what she'll do. That 'sometimes' was happening now. I tried not to fidget.

"It's a girl, isn't it?" she asked, eyebrow still raised. "Who?"

I bit my lip. Should I tell her?

"Is it Akane Kimura?"

I suppose I should accept defeat gracefully.

"Yes."

Then came another 'sometimes' situation. She was completely silent, just staring at me, that same look on her face. Then she shook her head, almost like she was disgusted with me, harshly stepped on my foot, and while retorting "Ass," under her breath, turned on her heel and stomped away, leaving me sore and a little bewildered.

I guess I always knew she'd be angry with me, but disgusted? When the pain had finally relieved itself, I walked back into class, only able to shake my head at what just happened. Of course, I was met with Taniguchi's snicker and Kunikida's sympathetic smile. Sometime during lunch, Akane apologized for her taking me from my after school club.

"I didn't mean to upset Suzumiya-san like that," she said sadly, reminding me a little of Asahina-san. "I'm so sorry, Kyon!"

"No, no, it's alright!" I smiled. "She's just over-reacting. It's alright, really."

Akane nodded, smiling a little and turning, so that sexy ponytail fliped gracefully in that one movement. "Alright, so I guess I'll see you tonight?"

I tried not to look at either of the boys I was sitting with when I replied, "Of course. I'll see you after school!"

Although I couldn't ignore when Taniguchi gave me a little nudge soon after Kimura-san left. "Hey, Kyon," he motioned with his head to his side, where older brother Kimura was approaching our table with two other guys, looking less than pleased. Looks like he's found friendship in yankee Tendo and tall, tanned Tachibana.

"Sato," Kimura addressed me. "So you're tutoring my sister, huh?"

"Yes, just like she asked."

"Well, let's get one thing clear, alright?" he bent down to my level and leaned on the desk. "Don't you think you and my sister can be anything more than just friends. I see the way you look at her."

I hated when people told me what to do. "What? You mean the same way you look at Haruhi?"

Taniguchi and Kunikida looked surprised. I must have been glaring. Kimura wasn't amused as his hand clenched into a fist and an eyebrow raised, matching my glare.

"What the hell does Suzumiya-san have to do with this?"

Taniguchi and Kunikida looked at me for an answer. Honestly, I wasn't sure what she had to do with it, so I said nothing and just held my glare. There's something about Ayame that makes me so angry and I can tell that there's something about me he hates too. If I were my usual rational self, I wouldn't be glaring or angry at all. I'd think "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot". I really wouldn't care whether he liked me or not. I'm not exactly a fighter, you know, but then I think of the way he was staring at Haruhi and for whatever reason, my blood boils.

"Look, just don't be coming onto my sister, okay?" he said. "Or you'll have to answer to me. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," I said in a tone of voice I hadn't used since I stopped the man from raping Haruhi about a week ago. By now, even Tendo and Tachibana seemed a little uneasy.

Kimura grinned his smug grin. I think his is the only smile I know of more annoying than Koizumi's. "I'm not sure I like your attitude, Sato."

"Look, Kimura," I'd had enough of this. I didn't want to speak to him anymore. I didn't want to have to fight him either since, honestly, I didn't really know my own strength yet and could get found out if I hurt him too badly. "I'm not going to do anything to your sister. She asked me for help and I intend on giving it to her. Nothing more."

I could tell by the disappearance of his grin that Kimura was still dissatisfied, but what could he do with his sister watching him at that very moment?

"I'm watching you, Sato," he growled as he turned to go back to wherever he'd come from. Tendo and Tachibana followed. The air of tension in the classroom lifted, but was replaced with curiosity. I was frustrated enough without having to talk about what just happened.

"What just happened?" I expected Taniguchi would ask that question.

"Nothing," I replied in a tone that clearly said 'I don't want to talk about this'. "Just an over protective twin brother. That's all."

* * *

Please review, fave, and all that good stuff!

Hopefully, Akane doesn't come off as TOO Mary-Sue. lol

(1) - If you can guess which real Japanese celebrities/bands those were supposed to be, I'll give you a cookie. XD


	4. Pushing the Tide

Hey, sorry about the delay! University stuff... _sigh_...

* * *

"Asahina-san!?"

Sure enough, there was said beautiful redhead that Wednesday morning, looking out of place in my classroom before our lessons began. Asahina-san and I had never seen each other outside of after school and sometimes on weekends or holidays, so I wasn't sure whether I should be overwhelmingly happy, super suspicious, massively worried, or an odd mixture of the three. Since Haruhi hadn't arrived yet, I opted for option one and plastered a big (attempted to look friendly, but it probably ended up dopey... _sigh_...) grin on my face until I noticed she did not share my glee. In fact, she looked troubled.

"A-asahina-san?"

"Kyon, I'm sorry for visiting so suddenly," she said, staring at her shoes. "But I need to speak with you privately."

"Oh, alright," said I as I rose from my seat and followed her just outside the door where I'd been with Haruhi the day before at lunch. "Is there something wrong?"

"You weren't at our club meeting yesterday," Asahina-san finally looked up at me, her eyes still full of worry.

"I'm sorry, I was tutoring another student."

And what a fantastic night that was! Kimura-san appreciates my help greatly and pays me well, but that's not the best part of teaching her. I can barely even choose words to do such a beauty justice! She's just perfect. She had the cute demeanor and meekness of Mikuru and yet the beauty of Haruhi. Kimura-san's a perfect mix! Asahina-san is highly attractive and cute. However, I've come to realize over the years that sometimes her inability to save herself from Haruhi can get a little tiring (but still cute? It's hard to explain), although I hate to admit it. I love saving her, but at the same time, I don't, such as when Haruhi's trying to pry her into some new outfit. With Kimura-san, she's shy but you never have to make the decision between your (_ahem_) reference material for later, more private times or her own well being; she makes the decision for you. This saves you from your own moral dilemma. At the same time, she is not a polar opposite like Haruhi, who's also highly attractive, but so high strung with such impossible ambitions that it makes your head hurt. That doesn't mean Kimura-san herself is not ambitious, just that she's a lot more down to Earth. Then there's that sexy dark ponytail... Oh, am I ranting? He he, sorry....

Asahina-san fidgeted a little. "Suzumiya-san was very upset yesterday... She kept talking about you and eventually left early. Koizumi-san didn't smile like he usually does that day."

She was so adorable and so concerned. I began to feel bad for leaving her like that yesterday. "I'm sorry, Asahina-san. It's just this student needs my help."

"Kyon," her golden eyes stared into mine. "I'm afraid of what will happen if Suzumiya-san is left to be this upset. I don't know what she'll do. I've never seen her this way. Aside from the world being in her hands, as a person, it isn't healthy for her to carry on like this."

I sighed. Things always had to be Haruhi's way, didn't they? It was all fine when she decided to force herself upon others because that's none of my business, right? But now, my entire life had to change to accommodate her. Excuse me for thinking her an angry tyrant. Hey, wait... Am I beginning to resent her?

"K-Kyon?" That's when I realized I was glaring at my desk. I looked up, face softened, to see Asahina-san more worried now than ever. "W-what's the matter?"

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "I just haven't been feeling like myself lately."

"Oh, I'm sorry... Are you coming to our meeting today?" she asked, meekly. I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for yesterday, Asahina-san."

She smiled back and assured me I had nothing to worry about. With that, the bell had rung and the hurried off to her own class. It was time for me to return to my seat as well, so I did just that as our teacher was coming down the hall.

I waited.

...

Huh. That's funny.

Haruhi's usually here by now at least. Actually, she's usually early.

Kimura-san walked in with a small group of girls and waved at me with a friendly smile. I returned the gesture. Taniguchi shuffled in with Kunikida and Tendo close behind. After that came Ishida-san, Tachibana and Kimura, Kurosaki-san... Where was Haruhi?

She couldn't have not come to school just because I didn't come to our meeting yesterday, could she? That's ridiculous! That's almost as bad as the time she cut her hair just because I asked why she changed the style every day... I thought. Then again, if she was capable of doing _that_...

The day rolled on uneasily and I was unable to understand why Haruhi would be absent that day. Was she really that upset? And why? It's just me, after all.

Once the final bell rung for the day, I found myself walking over to the club room, probably only to satisfy Asahina-san, who would be completely flustered at the fact that Haruhi, who'd almost never missed a day of school in her entire student career, was at home. Besides, maybe Haruhi really was sick or something else reasonable and had found the strength to at least come to an SOS brigade meeting. If she was there and I wasn't, she'd make things much more unbearable for the little time traveler than they already were. Instead, I was met with Asahina-san, Nagato-san, and the esper, who certainly didn't look like his normal self. It almost made me shiver.

"Um, hey," I said finally, trying to break the awkward tension. Asahina-san was just as concerned as I thought she would be, Nagato-san stared out the window (most people would say calmly, but she was usually reading a book, so this was highly unusual), and I had noticed Koizumi had shifted his stare at me. I stepped back just slightly. Why did he look like that?!

It occurred to me that I'd never seen Koizumi unhappy. He always looked pleasantly annoying and never even so much as frowned, not even when Haruhi threatened to destroy this world and create a new one. Now he kind of reminded me of how my dad looks when I mess up. I half expected him to say "Son, we need to talk".

"Suzumiya-san is not present today," Nagato said, still staring outside. "That is highly unusual."

I gulped. "Well, maybe she's just sick."

I sat down across from Asahina-san, almost afraid to go near Koizumi. He continued to stare at me.

The room was silent. It was like a vacuum. By that, I mean that while I wanted so much to leave (Koizumi was really starting to freak me out), I felt like I'd be doing something wrong by leaving them. I felt like someone else had to leave first so I knew it was okay, but no one budged. At the same time, what was the point in staying? Haruhi wasn't here to tell us what to do and no one was offering up suggestions. I sighed.

"Koizumi," I said, putting aside my tiny fear of speaking to him now that he seemed to be some sort of parental figure. "Is there a reason why you're staring at me?"

"That depends," he said. "Is there a reason why you weren't here yesterday?"

I suppressed another gulp, almost tempted to say "Yes, sir".

"It's none of your business," I replied. It really wasn't and I was beginning to hate how he was reminding me of my father.

"Haruhi's well being is my business, and had you seen her yesterday, you to might conclude she was not well. She was very upset that you were absent."

I sighed. "I was helping someone else. Is that really so bad?"

"No, not at all," Koizumi replied. "But I must step in when it impedes on Haruhi's happiness."

"Well, what are you going to do then?"

"I'm going to ask you not to tutor Akane Kimura-san anymore," said he, simply.

"And if I refuse?"

He said nothing. I could tell he could do nothing if I refused, but then why ask? Maybe he trusted I would see it his way eventually.

"You know," he looked up from the table. "Selfishness will get you no where."

I made a surprised face. How could anyone call _me _selfish for being tired of obeying Haruhi's every demand? Mikuru looked up at me to see my reaction. I guess she must have seen the fault in what he said too.

"Selfish?!" now I was angry. "I've gone along with most of what she's asked me. Ever since I met her, things where more or less her way. All I ask is to be able to make one decision for myself and suddenly I'm the bad guy?"

Mikuru looked upset. I knew the probably hated confrontation, but Koizumi's comment was so untrue, I _had_ to say something. Nagato-san sat there, staring at the floor. You wouldn't think it if you didn't know her, but I imagined she was a little uncomfortable. She was probably making notes about human communication as well, but I imagine combat on any planet is not a comfortable subject.

Koizumi closed his eyes calmly, but still in a bad mood. "Kyon, whether you like it or not, you're what's standing between life and death. It's unfair and you didn't choose this, but all I ask is that you make the best of it. She doesn't mean to ruin your life or whatever you think she's doing."

I just stared at him, at a loss for words.

"Besides," he continued. "She really _did _look hurt, and I don't like seeing her that way. I don't think any of us did."

Koizumi stood and turned back at us before turning the door knob and opening it. "I'll be going now. Good bye Kyon, Nagato-san, Asahina-san."

With that, he was gone. He'd destroyed the vacuum, but somehow, I still couldn't leave just yet. Asahina-san looked like someone who'd just had to let their dog get put down. Why was she so upset? Nagato-san stood up silently and exited as well. I sat next to the sad little redhead.

"What's wrong, Asahina-san?"

She seemed to snap out of her trance. "O-oh! No.. I'm alright. I just hate it when people fight."

"Oh, alright. Well, I promise not to fight in front of you again." More silence... This was driving me insane. I was about to ask if there was something else on her mind when she beat me to it.

"Kyon, do you think that maybe..." she paused. "That maybe Koizumi-san is... is in love with Suzumiya-san?"

I was taken off guard, surprised she'd ask me something like that. "I don't think so. Wh-what makes you think so?"

Asahina-san looked at her hands, which were on her knees. "Koizumi-san is calm in all situations, but after seeing Suzumiya-san so upset... It appears he is upset as well."

Well I assumed the two of them would have some sort of friendship after all this, which would prompt Koizumi's anger when he sees her so sad, I guess. But wait... Why did Asahina-san care?!

"Why... why do you ask, Asahina-san?"

Suddenly, she was flustered. "Well, I... it was just a thought. I-I guess it's really none of my business."

She blushed. I... I... What?!

Asahina-san and I left soon after. Did.. did she have feelings for... No, maybe she really was just curious. Maybe she's grown to think of Haruhi as a friend. Girls always wanna know about that sort of thing. Maybe she was worried for her friend. Yeah! That's it!

I sighed. I suppose it _was_ a possibility. After all, Koizumi _does_ have a bit of a fan club at our school. I sulked in my bedroom later that day, and what a day it was. Koizumi... That stupid ass. God, I need some air. I opened up the window and stepped out onto the sill, becoming more athletic and gaining darker hair as my clothing changed. I was Hero once again as I flew out into the night. I got that feeling again like something was wrong and flew to the victim's aid. A house on fire where I saved a baby and a small child, a homeless man in the park was almost beaten to death by neighborhood teens (one of which I recognized), a man being mugged in an alley, as well as a few other crimes I'd been able to intercept. Then as I flew out west, I heard someone crying in the distance. Somehow I was drawn to the little voice, like a moth to a light, and found myself landing in Haruhi's bedroom window. What drew me here...? Somehow, following her voice felt instinctive in my Hero form.

"Who-who's there?!" she sat up in bed and stared at me. Oh crap, what should I do? I almost fell from her window in my surprise. Haruhi stood, recognizing my silhouette. "You're... you're that Hero guy, aren't you?"

"U-uh... Y-yeah," Very heroic sounding, Kyon.

"What the hell are you doing here?! I'm not in trouble!" That's how you talk to the guy who saved you from being raped? Thanks Haruhi. Might as well tell the truth.

"I heard you crying and came to see what was wrong," I sighed. She glared (cutely, as much as I hate to admit it).

"I was _not_ crying! Even if I was, it's none of your business."

"Right," I pushed back the curtain and stepped into the room. Haruhi looked angry.

"Don't you know this is breaking and entering?! I can call the cops on you, you know!"

I raised an eyebrow. "You're going to call the police on a guy who flies around, protecting everyone without any compensation, and who people aren't even 100% sure exists?"

She folded her arms in front of her chest. "Of course!"

I sighed. Typical Haruhi, I guess. It took me a few minutes to calm her down - I suppose she didn't like being caught in her "moment of weakness". Finally, she wasn't angry anymore, just annoyed at my persistence. Maybe it was my strange familiarity that made her mood come down a little?

"Why do you care whether I was crying or not? Just get out. Don't think I owe you just because you saved me once."

I blushed. "What, you think I'm looking for something?"

"What guy isn't?"

"I'm not," I decided to use her own logic against her. "Supernatural, remember?"

Haruhi sighed this time and turned to me, raising an eyebrow. "You know, you remind me of someone. Some asshole I know."

I decided to ignore that. "Why's he an asshole?"

She suddenly looked angry, but at Kyon, not at Hero. "Because he totally just threw his responsibilities away the other day for some dumb girl."

I sat down at the foot of her bed. Haruhi stared at me with a look on her face that asked "what are you doing".

"What?" I inquired. "You don't wanna talk about it?"

Haruhi sighed, frustrated with my forwardness, and muttered "I can't believe I'm doing this" as she sat on her pillows, her arms folded, staring at the sheets below her. There was a long silence.

"So?" I asked.

"So what?"

"Are you going to tell me more about this asshole?"

"What more is there to tell? He's a selfish, stupid, no-good asshole and I didn't understand why," she spoke angrily. "Until just before I went to bed today, I realized that he doesn't seem to enjoy half the things he does with us. I don't know why since we're always doing something interesting, but maybe he's just boring like that."

Maybe the familiarity was working in my favor. I never thought she'd open up to a complete stranger like this. But I can't help but wonder if the fact that I'm some supernatural being has anything to do with her openness. She seemed more willing to speak to me; an alien, a time traveler, an esper, or a slider for all she knew, about her problem than anyone else. I never fully understood why Haruhi ever had a problem connecting with real people. Suddenly in this form, I felt like she'd let me come closer to her than she would have when I'm Kyon. Is there another reason why she's made me like this? Is it really all because Hero's friendship with her could make her life more exciting? Is it really because then she'll be the one person out of the billions on Earth that made an impact? Or is there something more to this that I don't yet understand?

I listened quietly while she seemed to take a more sombre tone.

"Or maybe..." she stood, her back facing me. "This is stupid! Why am I telling you all of this?"

"Because I'm a neutral party," maybe I can convince her to tell me. "You have no idea when you'll see me again, _if_ you ever see me again. I can't judge you or your opinion because I know nothing about you. I don't know anyone you know. I can't talk behind your back to anyone. What have you got to loose?"

Haruhi stood there for a while, then sighed, turning to me slowly. "Fine."

I looked up at her.

"Sometimes I wonder if he hates me. God, he's so dumb. I can't stand him," her eyes were turning red again. Is that why she was so upset? Ugh, now I feel bad... I frowned.

"Haruhi...?"

"Get out!" she shouted, near tears. She turned away from me. "Get out or I'll call the police! I don't want you in here!"

I sighed. I guess she's had enough of talking, but I think I got the gist of it. I walked slowly to the window, pushing back the curtains and setting one foot upon it, but I paused. I was going to just leave, but the sound of her attempting to stifle her new tears made it feel wrong.

"I don't hate you," I said, staring out at the night. I really didn't. I was just frustrated with her lately. That was all.

"What?" she asked. I gasped at myself a little. Damnit, Kyon, don't say something stupid!

"He doesn't hate you. I bet he's just angry about something. If you just talk to him, I'm sure you can work it out. He maybe an 'asshole', but I'm sure he's reasonable and will understand."

She stared at me like I'd just revealed something to her. I smiled over my shoulder. Maybe I'd finally gotten through to her. Then she frowned and put on the same Haruhi face.

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

I nearly fell over. Typical Haruhi, but hey, I tried.

"Alright, I'm leaving then."

With that, I was off, but my strengthened hearing detected a new sound.

"Good bye..." she muttered once I'd left, then probably climbed into bed and went to sleep.

What a situation I'm in now. Now, Kimura-san is counting on me and my tutoring but if I don't go to the Brigade after school, Haruhi will think it's because I hate her and she'll be upset. But Kimura-san will be upset if I cancel...! God, why is this all so complicated? I was so deep in thought, I almost didn't notice a figure fly past me toward Haruhi's house. It was flying so fast, I couldn't quite make out what it was, but once I turned to see it behind me, it was gone.

"Haruhi?" I was a little worried now. Whatever that thing was, it didn't feel like a good thing. I flew back to the Suzumiya residence, just to make sure everything was alright. After doing a quick check of the house, I hovered into Haruhi's room through the window. Just like Koizumi said, if anything evil was around now, it would likely go after her. I hovered over her now sleeping form. _Hah_, I thought to myself, _if you caught her sleeping, you'd never know how troublesome she was_. I laughed a little and, seeing there was nothing wrong with her or her family, I decided I would take my leave. I guess I'd just have to watch out for whatever that was.

* * *

I'm scared this might of been OOC. ^^; Haha, maybe I should just embrace it?


	5. The Hitomi Diamond

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay... University's so much more work than high school... That and I got a writers block which soon cleared up after I (finally) watched the last two episodes of the second Haruhi season. lol I have to say I was a little unsatisfied, but oh well. Anyway, another reason for the delay was that I was trying to piece different things together and I kind of changed the plan for this story a little bit. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Where am I? Ugh, not this again.

Another weird dream. That's exactly what I needed.

I looked down at myself. I wasn't my normal self - I was a robbed figure standing on a rooftop, looking down at what appeared to be a busy Tokyo street. A black fly flew in circles in front of me and my arm moved to grasp it in my hand all by itself. It appears I have no control over this body. I sighed inwardly as my - or perhaps, someone else's - body brushed off the bug remnants between his thumb and forefinger, staring down from under his red hood at the city bellow with all its people, rushing cars and bright lights. To my left side stands another figure in a hooded white cloak and to my right, another, in a hooded black cloak. Both are shorter than I and they too watch scene in the ground. The one in the white opens their mouth to speak, but strange sounds come out instead of normal speech, and somehow, I understand what they're saying.

"They're like insects, aren't they?" this person asks, who judging by the voice, is female. My body nods.

"Indeed. They are weak in terms of strength, slow to react in dangerous situations, and physically very fragile," he explains. "Without their intelligence, they would be mere primates like their ancestors, but they are somewhat interesting. Don't you agree?"

The hooded one in black began to growl. It sounded almost like a small angry dog; high pitched but still fightening. I noticed she seemed to have fangs and the one hooded in red had her on a leash. He and the third person didn't even so much flinch at the female beside them, who seemed the most like a wild animal. The small portion of her face I could see reminded me of some insane Pagan nomad. _She'd give Princess Mononoke a run for her money,_ I thought.

"Easy, girl," he said, and the feral one was silent. He pulled her leash so she would come closer and cupped her chin in his hand. "Patience is a virtue."

The female purred gently against him, suddenly calm. Now, she clung to and nuzzled him, like a cat upon seeing its owner. This was getting a little weird.

"What shall we do now?" asked the white cloaked one. The male was silent for a moment.

"Is everything ready?"

The female cloaked in white nodded. "I am prepared."

The one whose eyes I was seeing through turned his head to look at the feral one, who made a grunting noise to signal her readiness. He was about to give an order, when suddenly, there was a loud bang followed by a wet, sickening cracking noise. The two figures beside me looked between them to see what had happened, but by then, I was already on the floor, the world melting into a bright light.

It was then that my eyes fluttered open. What? No! What happened to the robbed man? And what was up with that leash? I checked myself, hoping it wasn't one of _those_ dreams, and finding myself quite relaxed, relief washed over me. I grunted, rolling over into my pillow. Even if it wasn't _that_ kind of dream, it was weird nonetheless.

After finally finding the energy to sit up, I got ready for school. "Miharu's having her sleepover today," I remembered just after brushing my teeth. "Must remember to keep out of the way of those pre-teen girls."

I knew all too well what pre-teen females thought of teenage males such as myself. So long as we aren't overweight or too ugly, they latch onto us like girls did Miguel James **[1] **in the 80s. I shivered at the thought. Miyoko Yoshimura was alright (_she_ never clung to me), but some of Miharu's other friends made me nervous. I found one of them with my underwear once. Ever since then, I've locked my bedroom door when I knew they were coming over, even though Miharu was clearly freaked out by that incident and told that girl never to speak to her again (at least I know she's on my side). Maybe I'm just paranoid.

That day, I didn't expect to see Haruhi at school at all, but I suppose life is full of surprises, isn't it? There she was, staring out the window, pretending I didn't exist. Maybe if she focused hard enough, I really _would_ disappear.

"Morning," I said and turned slightly to greet her. I was answered with a 'hmph'. My shoulders slumped a bit. I guess Hero's little talk did nothing to sway her.

Haruhi bored holes in my back all morning (huh, I thought I didn't exist, Haruhi...). After class and the entire evening when we were at the Brigade meeting, she totally ignored everything I said or did. Koizumi smiled again, but we could tell he really wasn't in his usually chipper mood. He was just smiling for Haruhi's sake. It's alright, I thought to myself, she'll get over it.

And then came the sleep over. I refused to open the door for any of our guests as I was afraid of being glomped to death.

My mother sighed at my protest. "Oh Kyon, they're only little girls."

"You mean small masses of hair and braces and _fangs_?" I asked. She shook her head at me and went to answer the door. I heard a tiny squeal and turned to face the direction from which it came. Low and behold, my mortal enemy. No, not Ayame Kimura, but good guess.

Tomoyo Kinomiya: pigtails and a pink dress and, oh, fangs (they're hidden somewhere, I know it!). She gawked at me for a while before Miharu came rushing downstairs. "Tomoyo!"

The creepy tween was knocked out of her trance. "Miharu!" she shouted as she and my sister embraced each other. I tried to focus on the math problems in front of me hoping maybe the two girls would just go upstairs. Tomoyo turned to me, grinning. "Hi, Kyon!"

"Hi," might as well be nice. I didn't have to smile or anything, but a simple greeting was okay. Alright, back to my homework... A train leaving Tokyo Station at 5 pm at 50 miles per hour is going to arrive in Osaka at... _(SMOOCH)_ .... W-what?

My head shot in the direction of a giggling Tomoyo, who was running away from me. My sister made a disgusted face at her friend, but shrugged it off and followed her upstairs. My cheek had just been violated by a 13 year old. Ugh... I let my head sink into my textbook. Perfect.

As the night went on, more of Miharu's friends came through the door, turning my home into the receiving end of an open Pandora's box of sheer terror. One of them, I think her name was Naoko, started whispering to some of her friends and looking over at me. Yeah, that's not obvious... I felt like I was on display, but I pretty much ignored it until my mother ushered the girls into my sister's room. Peace and quiet at last...

Well, until Shamisen came downstairs dressed as a crudely constructed cat version of me.

"That's it," I said, closing my chemistry text. "I'm outta here."

I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door, telling my mother I was going out for some air. Wow, pre-teens are insane. I wonder if I was that insane when I was 13? After wandering around for a bit, it only took me about a half hour to realize I had no where to go. I tried sitting around in the park, but there was some disheveled old man there looking at my funny over his shoulder and stroking something in front of him (he was in the dark and I couldn't see all of him) so I left. I tried just walking around but that soon got boring (Haruhi must be rubbing off on me). I was strolling aimlessly until I noticed a familiar door step: my grandmother's house. As I stared up at it, the door opened as if on cue and out stepped a tall, skinny blond haired boy to take out the trash: my younger cousin, Hiroto. What was he doing here? He and my aunt (the one who dubbed me Kyon in the first place) lived all the way in Osaka. Maybe he was just visiting, but somehow, I doubted that. As he looked up from the garbage, he squinted into the darkness then smiled when he realized the figure was me.

"Hey, cuz!" he waved happily. "Fancy seeing you here!"

Yeah, I kinda live around here...

"Hey, Hiroto," I smiled back. "What are you doing here?"

"You'll never believe it. My mom and the principal at my old high school had - uh - a bit of a spat so I'm transferring to yours!"

What? Another transfer student? How many of these are we going to get? This is becoming redundant. And that's kind of a strange reason for them to dump him here. In that case, couldn't they have put him in another school in Osaka?

"Really? That's great," I replied. Hiroto smiled, seeming proud of himself.

"Hey, you wanna come inside?" he stepped aside and opened the door wider for me. "Grandma's making hot chocolate."

Well, I _was_ looking for something to do, right?

"Sure, thanks," I said as I approached the door step and walked in.

"Grandma!" my cousin called as he shut the door behind him. "Kyon's here for a visit!"

Down came my grandmother from upstairs, a tiny old woman with a pleasant little pixie-like face. She smiled widely when she saw me.

"Oh, hello there, Kyon!"

"Hi, grandma," I met her in an embrace when she'd descended.

"What brings you here, deary?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen to tend to the beverages. Hiroto and I followed.

"I'm just stopping by."

My grandmother walked over to the counter and poured the warm chocolate milk into three mugs, handing two of them to each of us when she was finished. She picked up the last one for herself. "Come along boys, let's go into the living room."

Once we'd all gotten settled down, we conversed about recent events in our lives and we took a short stroll down memory lane. I remember my grandmother used to live with us when I was a kid. Hiroto would visit sometimes since back then, and he and my aunt lived in the area. My grandma wasn't like other women her age. She never let life pass her by. Grandma was always making some adventure for herself and enjoying her life. In fact, Rumiko Sato (my grandmother, of course) was an anthropologist in her youth and a historian and university professor in her old age. She would tell us many stories of ancient civilizations and the people she had the pleasure of meeting. Grandmother would tell us of ancient ruins and mountain peaks and other places we could only dream of. Maybe that's why I'm interested in history?

"Hey, Kyon," Hiroto interupted my thoughts. "Do you remember that story Grandma used to tell us? The Edian creation myth?

Edian creation myth? Grandma's told me lots of stories, but I don't think that was one of them.

"No, I don't think so," I replied.

"I think I only told that one to you, Hiroto."

"Oh!" my cousin smiled. "That one's the best one! Grandma, tell Kyon the Edian creation myth."

My grandmother laughed. "Alright, alright. That always _was_ your favorite story."

_Long ago, before the time of the Earth, there were only the Gods. These Gods were all a large family comprising of 101 different dieties and they all lived in harmony. The two youngest in this family were the twin sisters, Lilita, who was the Goddess of the moon, and Eva, who was the Goddess of the sun. The twin sisters became bored one day and decided to create a miniature version of their world. They used clay to create a round ball with plants and animals on it just like their home. This they called Terra, but eventually, the girls were bored again, so they used the last bit of clay they had to create a creature on Terra who resembled a God. This was the first man, with a necklace made of a single eye of both Lilita and Eva to act as his heart, and his name was Ado. When the other Gods saw Terra and Ado, they were all greatly amused and wanted to create little clay creatures of their own. Each of them created one to live in the country which is now known as Edia. The Edians believe that each of their 99 tribes are descended from these first people. Ado, however, has no descendants. He never got the chance to start a family. You see, Lilita and Eva both had to share him as their creature and neither of them were any good at sharing. They constantly fought over who loved Ado more, who contributed more to his creation, who Ado himself favored, the list goes on. There were many attempts by both sisters to kidnap him. Eventually, it was Lilita who successfully fooled her sister and ran away with Ado, dragging him behind her. Enraged, Eva vowed to chase them for all eternity and Lilita vowed to run for all eternity. Ado had no choice in the matter. The Edians believe that Lilita and Ado run from Eva even to this day._

Hiroto grinned widely. "I love that story! Something about it is just hilarious."

Grandma shook her head playfully. "You have an odd sense of humor, Hiroto."

I smiled, but cringed on the inside. I could definitely relate to poor Ado, being dragged around against his will. But hey, it was a good story. I think I'll remember that for later.

It was at that moment that the phone rang. My grandmother stood to get it, then turned to me. "It's from your house, Kyon."

I sighed and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Sure enough, it was my mother.

"Kyooon," she whined. "The DVD player's acting funny and the girls wanna watch a movie. Can you come back and help us with it?"

Walk back into the lion's den? I shivered at the thought, but when my mom started to whine, things could only get worse if I didn't go back. Then it hit me: how did she know where I was?

"Mom, how'd you know I was here?"

"Oh, one of the girls suggested you might be at your grandmother's house," she explained casually. That made me shiver even more... The little creeps are stalking me. My mother seemed to think nothing of why whichever girl it was would have suggested that or why she was correct or even why she knew specifically that I was visiting my grandmother, but I didn't expect her to. My mom tends to be a tad oblivious.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," I said. She seemed relieved (maybe the tweens were beginning to get on her nerves too, but I kind of doubt it) and we said our good-byes.

Hiroto pouted. "You have to go back now, cuz?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that. My sister's having a sleepover so my mom needs me to help out."

"I suppose your father is working late today?" grandma asked.

"Yes, he is." My dad was a lawyer, if you didn't know. Loads of paperwork doesn't make for many nights home on time for dinner.

"Oh, well you go and help your poor mother," the old woman smiled, pulling me into a hug. "And come back and visit again sometime, alright?"

I smiled back warmly. "Of course I will!"

Once she let go, Hiroto immediately latched onto me. "I can't wait to see you again!" Nervously, I laughed a little (as much as I loved my cousin, it was a little uncomfortable when he hugged me like that).

"Haha, me too, Hiroto," I said, slowly breaking the embrace after a bit. "Now I have to go."

"Okay, see you, Kyon!"

My grandmother smiled as I pulled my jacket back over my shoulders and opened the front door.

"Goodbye, Kyon."

Later, I was rather awkwardly bent over our DVD player, trying to get the damn thing to work. Being bent over like this with five tweenage girls behind me made me feel incredibly exposed. My mother was making popcorn in the kitchen so she couldn't protect me if one of them was so bold as to grope me while my back was turned. Tomoyo was bragging to her friends about the kiss she snuck earlier. My sister was grossed out by her, but forgave her. I guess she's used to her friends' insanity, but I sure wasn't. I'm also pretty sure they're stating at me. Ugh, my life...

When I finally got the picture to work and realized the sound cable on our DVD player was broken, I temporarily switched it for the one we usually used for the Playstation 3. Finally finished, I decided to get to shelter quickly. The chorus of "Thanks, Kyoooon-sempai!" followed by giggles was just too creepy.

There was a silent thump noise when my body hit my bed. God, I'm so tired... But wait, what's this? My heart's racing. I almost can't breathe. Suddenly, this familiar feeling washes over me again. I stand up, suddenly brimming with adrenaline, and look at myself in the mirror, sure enough seeing Hero staring back at me. Why did I transform? I never intended to... This isn't good. I should be able to control this or I might start transforming in front of people. What if I've lost the ability to control my transformations? What if I can't control Hero? Or if he goes on a rampage all by himself? O-

_The museum_, I thought to myself. There's something at the museum. I feel it. I don't know what, but there's definitely something calling me to that place. As crazy as I thought I was for actually listening to myself (imagine that!), I hurried out the window and into the night. It didn't take me long at all to reach our local museum. I began to wonder why my instinct would lead to be a crummy old place like the Kanzaki Museum. It was nothing compared to just about every other museum in Japan. The only exhibit even worth mentioning was the stones exhibit, where the Ever Stone, a ruby belonging to some ancient pharaoh, and the Hitomi Diamond were housed. Other than that, there wasn't really anything there I could think of that would be of any importance. That and there's no one here. I sighed inwardly and maneuvered myself through the front door security. The place was so seldom visited I doubted even criminals looked at it twice, especially since the alarm system was sort of like the standard ones you get installed in your house. Nothing special, really. I melted through the walls without any trouble then set my feet on the floor. Yep, nothing here. I was about to turn around, cursing one of the instances where I acted completely on a whim, until I saw something in front of me: a light reflected against the wall. It looked like it was coming from a flashlight behind me, but I didn't hear any footsteps. I could hear things from miles away and yet I can't hear a security guard's footsteps in a building? I turned to face the owner of the light only to realize there was a reason why this person's feet made no sound.

It was a tall man - an angel, if you believe in that stuff - who wore a magnificent all-white robe and stared down at me with his ethereal face. The palm of his left hand was the source of the light, which he probably used to grab my attention, while his white, feathery wings moved just slightly. He himself levetated above the floor. After getting over my initial shock, I spoke to him.

"Who are you?"

The angel shook his head. "My name is of no importance."

I raised an eyebrow. Okay then... "Are you the one who called me?" I asked.

"I did."

There was silence. This guy was starting to get on my nerves with that mysterious aura. "So... what for?"

"I have come to warn you," said he as he fluttered slowly to the ground. "Do not protect the Hell goddess from those who attempt to smite her." The man began walking so he stood in front of me. "I understand she has chosen you as her prophet and that you feel you have a duty to her, but if you continue, you will surely loose your life."

"Die...?" I asked. I couldn't understand what he was saying at all and now I felt a little dizzy. There was the mention of that Hell goddess again. And I'm a prophet? What? God, I don't want to die!

"I see this is all foreign to you," he added, noting my confusion. "Lady Lilita the Hell Goddess has chosen you as her prophet, much to her sister's dismay."

"Lilita?" I remember that name... Oh! Yes, now I remember! My grandmother's story. "She's the Edian moon goddess, not the Hell goddess."

The angel shook his head. "Lady Lilita was the moon goddess before she committed a heinous crime. She betrayed Lady Eva's trust and for that, she was put in charge of Hell while Eva ruled over Heaven. Does this make sense?"

"N-no," I can't believe this is happening.

"You are in a state of shock," the angel shook his head. "I shall bid thee adieu, but not before I get what I came for."

Before I could question him about his intentions, there came a swift, searing pain in my abdomen. The wind was knocked out of me and I was suddenly beginning to see small dark circles building in my view. Dizziness overcame me as I fell to the floor, gasping for air, but growing faint.

"Rest well, Hero," I could hear the man say before I blacked out.

Later, my eyes fluttered open. Ugh, my torso hurts. And I feel sick. He must have punched me in the stomach. God, if I feel this terrible in this form, I couldn't possibly imagine what would have happened to me if I were regular Kyon. I banished the thought. The idea of me, mangled, bleeding and dead in a corner was making me feel more ill. Slowly, I stood on shaky legs as I caught my breathe, then I realized - shit! - it was morning. No! My family was probably wondering where I went! What was I supposed to tell them?

"Hey! You there!"

I turned quickly to see a rather pudgy security guard who, once he realized who I was, began shaking with fear until another two security guards ran up behind him. One of them pointed to his right.

"The Diamond!" he shouted. I looked in the direction he was pointing. Sure enough, that Hitomi Diamond was gone and the glass it was contained in was completely smashed. Oh, damn. It looks like I stole it, doesn't it? _Some angel,_ I thought to myself.

"Put your hands up!" the boldest guard yelled, holding his gun up in front of him. The other two followed and that was my cue to leave. I already knew bullets wouldn't harm me, but I think 'jewel thief' is a much better title than 'murderer' so I broke the nearest window and soared across the sky.

"Come back here!" they screamed, but they didn't bother shooting me.

After flying for a shorter time than I had last night (I had to check to see if my family had discovered Kyon's absence, so I went very quickly), I expected to see my mother stricken with worry, my father angered at whatever excuse I came up with, and my sister (and.. her friends, ugh) insisting I never go anywhere without her (_them_) again. I entered my open window and silently changed back. Then I put on my sleepwear, messed up my hair a little and was about to quietly open my bedroom door until I saw the alarm clock on my bedside. "6:30 AM" flashed in red, squared Arabic numerals.

"Seriously?" I asked no one in particular. School was in two hours, but it only took me an hour to get ready. _In that case I guess I can sleep now_, I thought as I crawled into bed.

I turned to the left to get comfortable, then to the right. Then I laid on my stomach and then, on my back again. It look me 15 minutes to realize I wasn't getting to sleep; and it wasn't because of the blow to the gut that "angel" had dealt me. I just had way too much energy to sleep. Another "perk", I suppose. I remember wondering as a child how all the super heroes I saw on television and in comic books could just save the world whenever they needed to, day or night and as a young man, I finally have my answer: they just don't sleep. They don't _need_ to sleep. Not to say that I never sleep, but I can now function perfectly fine with a very small amount.

My stomach growled. Funny how my needs for natural human necessities seemed to decrease - I suppose another new power of mine is that my body uses its resources much more efficiently - but my new abilities did little to aid my hunger. Sighing, I got out of bed and walked silently downstairs. I descended the stares, making sure to be very quiet around my sister's room (God forbid I should wake one of those mini gorgons), and fished the tempura from last night out of the fridge. I popped some tempura shrimp and mushrooms with rice into the microwave and leaned against the counter top on the opposite side. I was relaxed until I noticed a strange light followed by many other odd white lights while my eyes were between blinks. What the hell? My eyes followed the lines of energy until they reached the glowing box that was cooking my meal.

"Great," I smiled to myself sheepishly. "I can see microwaves." **[2]**

_Beep!_

Yawning, I took the bowl out of the microwave oven and looked for a clean pair of chopsticks. Upon finding there were none and washing some myself, I set them and the bowl down at the table and went to turn the television on.

"... is possibly responsible for the abduction of the Hitomi Diamond. Security guards spotted Hero fleeing the scene, leaving a broken, Diamond-less case behind him. Police have not stated whether or not he is indeed the thief. More on this in the afternoon segment," the female newscaster announced.

I see my little incident has already made it to the news. Well, my day couldn't get any worse.

* * *

"And I thought that guy was some super hero or something," Taniguchi laughed at lunch. "Jewelry stealing is petty thievery if you can fly and smash through walls and all, isn't it?"

"But no one knows if he actually did it," Kunikida frowned.

"Yeah, I know, but it'd be kinda interesting if he did, wouldn't it?"

Kunikida and I were silent. It was Taniguchi's turn to frown. "Oh, c'mon! I'm not the only one who thinks so, am I? Hero gone bad? That's not interesting? Oh, don't tell my I'm turning into Suzumiya or something..."

He looked around desperately for someone to possibly back his opinion. "Oh! Kimura-san!"

Upon hearing her name, Akane walked over to us, her beautiful jet black ponytail moving a little with each step. "Yes, Taniguchi-san?"

"Kimura-san, do you think it might be interesting if that Hero guy really is the jewel thief?"

"Absolutely not!"

The three of us were surprised by her strong reaction. Kimura-san talking so sternly? Unheard of! She blushed a little at our shocked expressions.

"Hero couldn't have done that," Akane stared at the floor. "And if he did..." she paused and shook her head. "Look, he didn't do it, okay?"

"You've - uh - got a lot of faith in him, don't you, Kimura-san?" asked Taniguchi. Akane blushed and opened her mouth to say something until some ignoble soul interrupted her.

"Akane's had a crush on that freak since she saw him on the news a while back," Kimura jeered and stopped his approach when he was standing right beside me. "But you guys already know that with how she fangirls over him. It's pretty pathetic, actually." I scowl at him. His sister growled... How cute!

"Shut up, Ayame!" The Kimura brother laughed at his twin's anger. My poor chopsticks attempted to withstand the pressure of my tightening grip. Who did he think he was anyway?

"Like you could do any of the things he does!" the Kimura sister barked.

"Like I'd want to! Who would want to have to stay up all night trying to defend people who probably won't even appreciate what you do for them? Plus, he looks like some reject manga character. He's a looser if you ask me."

"You're the looser, Ayame."

"I'm not the one who thinks they actually have a chance with a guy like that," he grinned. "Face it, sis. Hero maybe a joke, but what does that make you if you actually want him?"

Akane glared angrily, but her eyes told me she was close to tears. Taniguchi and Kunikida looked at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"Ayame, why don't you just leave?" I asked. Ayame expression changed from sadistically amused to angry.

"What was that, Sato?"

"Taniguchi asked Kimura-san for her opinion. No one was talking to you. So, why don't you leave?"

"Make me," Kimura came dangerously close to me.

"Ayame, he's right. They were talking to _me_!"

"Quiet, Akane!"

"Why don't you be quiet?" I turned to him with a scowl. "No one was talking to you and yet here you are."

"Don't push me, _Kyon-kun_."

Alright, that was it. I stood.

"You can go to Hell, _Aya-chan_."

The smug look on the face of the boy in front of me was promptly wiped off when I called him 'Aya-chan'. His fists shook at his side. A vein on his forehead strangely seemed more prominent. The corner of his mouth trembled and revealed a row of suddenly sharp looking teeth, much like an angry wolf.

"You've been warned, Sato. _I'm_ going to Hell? We'll see who'll end up in Hell, you bitch!"

With that, there was a stifling yet familiar pain in my abdomen. I toppled over, realizing the asshole had punched me in the stomach. Akane, Taniguchi, and Kunikida called my name, but I could barely hear them as adrenaline pumped through my veins. My mind filtered out whatever it deemed as unimportant, which felt like almost everything. Ayame just stared down at me, emotionless, not moving a muscle. Even when everyone else in class began to gather and panic, even when a teacher ran in and demanded to know what happened, he just continued to stare. I looked up from my stupor and noticed a blurry Haruhi in the doorway. She'd been walking around or something out there before and was probably brought back here by her curiosity. She had a strange look on her face that I couldn't quite recognise. Kunikida and Taniguchi helped me up, concerned by my disorientation, and were about to take me to the nurse's office. As the teacher ushered Kimura out the door, probably so he could receive punishment, I noticed Haruhi shoot him a subtle but visible poisonous glare that read death. Kimura smiled back at her, condescendingly. Was she actually upset that he'd hurt me? By then, my legs began to give out and I must have fallen over on top of the other two boys. Then the world turned black.

I half expected I'd wake up in my bedroom. Perhaps I'd fallen asleep this morning when I came back home and the entire day was just a dream. That would certainly explain the gentle throbbing in my stomach, but when I woke up, I was met with the stale white ceiling of the nurse's office instead.

"Hey, Kyon! You're alive!" Taniguchi joked, although I was sure he was genuinely concerned. He and Kunikida sat in the stools at my bedside.

I groaned. "That Kimura guy punched me."

"He sure did," the smaller brown haired boy sighed. "Kimura must have a pretty good punch if he knocked you out like that."

"So, how is Kimura-san?"

"Not talking to her brother, I think," the black haired one explained. "She was pretty upset when you got hurt."

"And Haruhi?"

Taniguchi raised a curious eyebrow. "What about Suzumiya?"

"Well, before I blacked out, I saw her in the doorway. She looked angry."

"Oh yeah, she _was_ there." realized Kunikida. "I'm not really sure, but I went to tell sensei you were alright, and she looked pretty mad... Her face was turning red. I thought she was going to start breathing fire!"

The other boy laughed. "She was probably thinking," he put on a high pitched voice for this part,"'No one hurts Kyon except for me!'," then Taniguchi grinned. "That's how a lot of girlfriends are, I suppose."

I rolled my eyes, but that was probably true.

"So, I think Kimura's been given a detention or something. He didn't seem phased at all by any of this though. He was kind of like 'whatever' about everything. Weird, isn't it?" said Taniguchi. "I mean, a few minutes ago, he looked like he'd stab Kyon with a box cutter!"

"Taniguchi, this is Kimura we're talking about. Not Nevada-chan **[3]** ," I frowned.

"But you know what I mean. His mood changed so quickly; from fiery to passive. Maybe he's just a weird guy or something."

"Yeah," I replied. "Maybe."

The room was silent then.

"So, will you be okay here by yourself?" the brown haired boy asked. "Sorry, it's just we're missing a lot of class."

I nodded. "Yeah, I think I just need a bit more sleep. You guys go on. Thanks for everything though."

The boys got up to leave.

"You get better, you hear Kyon?" Taniguchi called from the doorway.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Alright, now that those two were gone, I could get some shut eye. I must have been asleep for about another hour until the sound of the door closing woke me up again. The person jumped a little when they noticed I was awake.

"Haruhi?"

The girl in question regained her composure and put on an annoyed face. "What do you want?"

Wasn't it _you_ who came in here in the first place?! Hey, was this actually Haruhi attempting to speak with me? "Nothing. The door just woke me up. That's all."

She grunted, 'hmph', in return. "I just came to see if they had any medical tape. I'll need it later."

Huh, sure. "I see."

The room was silent then, other than the sounds of Haruhi rummaging through the drawers for medical tape I was sure she didn't need. Awkwardness set in as we both seemed to know what she was really here for (although, I'm sure she wouldn't ever admit it to herself).

"Still tutoring that Kimura girl?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am."

"I see."

"So uh, what's the medical tape for?"

"None of your business." Which was Haruhi language for 'nothing, I just need an excuse to be in here'.

"You know, I'll be there tomorrow," I said.

"Where?"

"Our club meeting. I've got tutoring tonight, but I'll be there tomorrow."

"Hm."

This was going nowhere fast. Jeez, but what was I supposed to say to her? I already knew what was bothering her, but I had to pretend like I didn't or she would suspect something. I could tell her Hero told me everything, but what if I need to have a private conversation with her again? She'll never tell him anything then. So, it was silent - save for the rummaging. I was sure she must have found it by now, but she seemed to be pretending she couldn't, possibly to prolong her time here. Come on, Haruhi. Say something. It's obvious you want to talk to me about it, so just say something!

"Hey,"

Hm? "Yeah?"

"That Kimura guy's an asshole. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind next time I see him. No one..." she left her statement unfinished. I suppose it would have ended with something like 'no one beats the stuffing out of you but me'. "You just feel better."

Haruhi grabbed the medical tape she was supposedly looking for and left faster than she came. That wasn't much of a conversation, but I commended her for trying. I guess she really was upset by what Ayame did to me. Why does my face suddenly feel warm?

God, am I blushing? Why? Well, I mean, I guess I never would have expected her to get mad and, dare I say, protective about this, but it's no reason to feel like this. I mean, I'd be angry if someone hurt her too! So why am I turning even redder?

* * *

1 - A replacement for another popular pop singer with the initials "MJ". lol

2 - For those who got confused, I don't mean microwave here as in the electric box that cooks food... I mean a wavelength of energy that this machine uses to cook with. :)

3 - I'm not sure if will allow too many culture references... That's why I change the names of celebrities and bands and such. This specific reference refers to a girl in Japan who, many years ago, stabbed a fellow student with a box cutter because the student was apparently picking on her. o_o

So, review and fave and all that great stuff! ^^


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